Kearney: Staying up would be ‘huge success’ for Saints

Oran Kearney insists it would be a ‘huge success’ if St Mirren retain their Ladbrokes Premiership status.

The Northern Irish boss arrived from Coleraine last September when Alan Stubbs departed after four matches, leaving the club second from bottom with three points.

The Buddies have been involved in a battle for survival ever since and are in the relegation play-off spot.

However, their 2-0 home win over Hamilton on Monday night took them to within a point of third-bottom Accies with one set of fixtures remaining.

St Mirren travel to already-relegated Dundee on Saturday while Hamilton host St Johnstone and Kearney knows that staying in the top flight, either by league position or through the play-off against either Dundee United or Inverness, would be considered an ‘achievement’.

‘I think it would be a huge success,’ he said.

‘I have won trophies as a player and as a manager before butthis is a totally different predicament and with the story as everyone knows of this season, it would be a hell of an achievementfrom everybody attached to this club.

‘There definitely hasn’t been any pressure because we find ourselves in territory that I don’t think anybody expected that we could get to, that is the beauty of where we are at this time.

‘We have been chasing for a long time and the chase is still on.

‘If I am being honest, probably at Christmas time, if you had given us this scenario at this stage of the season we would be delighted.

‘ Kearney has been linked with a return to Coleraine after the Bannsiders parted ways with Rodney McAree.

However, the St Mirren manager said: ‘It is not on my radar at this moment in time.